1. Panopticon - KentuckyTonight,
the dis-harmonic symphony of the cicadas plague my ears/Drifting off to
the mind numbing hum of grinding gears/Families starving in the eerie
silence of the hills/Lie exposed to the elements so fierce/Hold out just
one more day…say the same tomorrow…say the same tomorrowHighlights: Bodies Under The Falls, Black Soot and Red Blood, Killing The Giants As They SleepOne
man band and absolute phenomenon Austin Lunn here invokes the a
decades-old coal mine struggle in his native Kentucky, combining
bluegrass with none-more-black metal, to devastating effect. Combining
the past and the current (e.g. there are Occupy audio samples), he seeks
to prepare a new generation for the tumultuous battles to come in the
class war. Album of the year, and easily album of the decade so far.2. Moonspell - Alpha Noir/Omega WhiteI am thinking vultures ripping the flesh, smashing the bone/I am thinking hailstones shot to the head, making the giant fallHighlights: Grand Stand, Opera Carne, WhiteomegaA
stunning surprise from a band who have clearly reinvented themselves in
response to the global situation. More known for their focus on the
‘supernatural’, Fernando Ribeiro has brought them back down to the
realities of life to create a work that celebrates the fighting,
struggling, desiring animal spirit in us all.3. Corrosion Of Conformity - Corrosion Of ConformityThat's
right, the moneychangers/Thrown out of the temple, you know it didn't
last a day/Now returned in the clothes of the pious, back to their old
waysHighlights: Psychic Vampires, The Moneychangers, Time of TrialsThis is Corrosion of Conformity alright, but it's a lineup which hadn't recorded together since Animosity
came out in 1985, when I was four. Grizzled veterans they may well be,
but they all still know how to craft great deep southern rock, and the
lyrical themes show they are far more in touch with everyday concerns
than almost all of the kids promoted by the labels. 4. Richard Hawley - Standing at the Sky’s EdgeShe
was standing at the sky's edge/And out there, who knows what she's
thinking?/She was sliding down the sky's razors edge/And watched her
life slowly sinking away, away, awayHighlights: Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Don’t Stare at the Sun, The Wood Collier’s GraveAnother
one who has made a real change - from the lonely melancholia of working
class towns to savage but poetic anger at the elite and invitations to
gather ye rosebuds while ye may. I love his others, but this is far and
away his best stuff yet, and well worth all the praise it has received.5. Mark Lanegan Band - Blues FuneralThey’re
singing, they’re singing/Away up on the hill/They’re building, they’re
building/A mystical union, beautiful and still/But down here in the dirt
they’ll say it doesn’t hurtHighlights: Bleeding Muddy Water, Ode to Sad Disco, Phantasmagoria BluesPerhaps
the best work Lanegan has ever done. It’s blues of course - the album
and song titles testify to that. But blues brought up to date in
amazingly experimental new ways, and his voice has never sounded more
burdened and sonorous. 6. Fear Factory - The IndustrialistAutomatic
slaves kill the will to live/Losing hope to save yourself/Siphoning the
soul from humanity/Suffering and apathy/All of this must endHighlights: Recharger, God Eater, DissassembleAmazing
that every successive FF release sounds more urgently ‘now’ than the
last, amazing that they continue to innovate, and amazing that Burton
still gives a damn after all these years. New themes are needed though -
they’ve done machines to beyond death.7. The Coup - Sorry To Bother YouThey got the TV, we got the truth/They own the judges and we got the proof/We got hella people, they got helicopters/They got the bombs and we got the guillotineHighlights: The Guillotine, Violet, You Are Not A Riot (An RSVP From David Siquiros to Andy Warhol) It’s
been a while since Boots Riley last came at us with The Coup - he’s
been busy with Street Sweeper Social Club and the everyday grind of
being an Oakland revolutionary. This is the most experimental thing
they’ve done, and a joy, never mind a bother.8. Muse - The 2nd LawYou don't have long/I am on to you/The time, it has come to destroy/Your supremacyHighlights: Animals, Explorers, Supremacy So it doesn’t quite hit the heights of The Resistance,
and they still somehow manage to sound like Queen even when they’re
doing dubstep, but they try to innovate and keep it real despite their
millions goddamnit. They sure as hell do that much.9. Killing Joke - MMXIIAnd
did we overcome the shadow - confront the inner rage?/Will all our
deeds be sung of - remembered with loving praise?/And did we fight with
courage and make the world a better place?/And will we till the soil and
plant the forest for the human race?Highlights: Glitch, In Cythera, PrimobileThe
world didn’t end in 2012, but this album is chock full of ways it can
end and perhaps is already ending. This world anyway. As always with
Killing Joke, there’s still time for hope, struggle, and camaraderie. 10. Leonard Cohen - Old IdeasHe
will speak these words of wisdom/Like a sage, a man of vision/Though he
knows he's really nothing/But the brief elaboration of a tuneHighlights: Anyhow, Different Sides, LullabyListening
to Leonard Cohen croon is like having your emotions eloquently
explained to you by someone who has seen and done it all, and his vocals
sound deeper and richer than ever. He was there for me many a time
through 2012, and there should be more grandparent music!

What I listened to most in 2012...

11. Kreator - Phantom AntichristJust
when I think Kreator can’t still have yet another quality CD in them, they
surprise me. They are still eighties thrash at heart, but have evolved
with every album, and Mille Petrozza has managed to root his lyrics in
the real world for a generation now. This is how Metallica and Slayer
‘could have’ been in 2012.12. Sabbath Assembly - Ye Are GodsChristianity
and New Age hippydom shouldn’t be a good combination for me. But here,
it really is. Clearly the Old Age cannot continue, and this is an
exciting invocation of a new world yet to be born. If William Blake were
alive today and writing prog-folk-metal...13. Metric - SyntheticaEvery
Metric record seems to take the pulse of a desolate global society, yet
blatantly yearn for something much better. It is an amazing talent to
both curse the darkness and light a candle in this way.14. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - LawlessA
sparkling and surprising return to form for these veterans. Full of
vivid if dreary feeling, it begins with a great prose piece about
unexpected love. A beautiful countrified blues soundtrack to one of the year's best films.15. Tindersticks - The Something RainA
sparkling and surprising return to form for these veterans. Full of
vivid if dreary feeling, it begins with a great prose piece about
unexpected love.16. Testament - The Dark Roots Of EarthSparkling,
innovative and fiercely political thrash from a band that have been
around forever, but sound different with every release.17. Rome - Hell MoneyYet another excellent piece of martial folk from this prolific revolutionary poet.18. Aesop Rock - SkelethonTrying
to understand Aesop Rock is like trying to catch hold of a Big
Bang-type explosion of poetry. It can’t be done, but who fucking cares
when it sounds this good?19. Dead Can Dance - AnastasisA
little light on the (as ever, brilliantly poetic) lyrics, but this is
the sweeping, lush sound that rewards fans for their generation-long
wait.20. Black Magician - Nature Is The Devil’s ChurchAn
excellent debut from an intriguing Liverpool band who show great
promise. Especially with that keyboardist, cos what he contributes sets
them apart from all the other Cathedral wannabes. Oops!